DECLINE (EP)
Year: 2010
Genre: Punk RockSub-Genres: Hardcore
Label: Cowabunga Records
Tracks: 4
Length: 6 Minutes (Very Short)
Style: Angry
My Rating: 6/8
The School Jerks are a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario (Canada). They formed around 2008 or so. Their sound is simple, but effective and hard-hitting. Sort of a mix between early Black Flag and the later Germs. According to an interview, two members of the band, Ben and Luke, were previously in another band called "Terminal State"; the band broke up, but Ben and Luke wanted to keep playing music. The School Jerks' name is taken from the title of a song called "School Jerks" by a band called the Vains. The band has released a demo tape (released 2008), and two 7" records (the first of which I have already reviewed). This is the School Jerks' newest release, and it's a four-song 7" vinyl EP called "Decline".
1. Decline
Can't understand the lyrics, but the song is great, anyways. The vocals sound a lot like the slurred fucked-up-but-great yelling of Darby Crash, while the drumming and guitars punch hard like a song by Black Flag or the Circle Jerks! There's a little solo in the middle of the song. The song ends in a slowly fading clash of the final chords having been stroked.
2. Rentboy
Fastest song on the EP. Vocals sound great. I love the distortion. Yep, I have no idea what they're saying on any of these songs... Side 1's over, so turn the damn record over tooooo!!
3. Street Talk
My favorite song on here. The beat sort of holds back in the verse section, with the occasional cymbal clashing here n' there. Awesome riff, especially when the chorus section kicks in... just sounds really good to me! I'll bet this one sounds fucking great played live... the chorus riff has such a cool roll to it... that's when the beat starts resemble the first song's more... it's all cool, though.
4. Guestlist
Starts with a neat, lead-n-bassdrum intro... quickly, the first verse of the song begins. This one has a pretty neat outro-section that comes after the second chorus.
It's short, but good. It definitely has the vibe and attitude of the original hardcore punk bands; in a good way. The music's pretty straightforward simple, so if you're looking for jazz-fusion 'er something, don't look for it in this EP. It definitely has a classic vibe to it -- this is definitely something I think I'll still be listening to in the future. And with the band just starting off, it makes you wonder what they're gonna do next -- the 4-1-1 is that they may be working on some new recordings in the near future (read: probably before Summer begins), and it should rock as hard as this one does already. Sometimes the band gets their live shows broadcasted on Equalizing Distort Radio. You can find more info here:
http://equalizingxdistort.blogspot.com
I'm not sure how often they do it, but it's something I read on the band's MySpace page. So yeah, the School Jerks are for you if you're looking for a good, young, thrashy punk band. In some ways Toronto kinda comes off as the new L.A., punk-wise. Hope you liked my review, and have a happy Friday, everyone! :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment